Ascorbic acid is an antioxidant vitamin involved in the maintenance of vascular integrity, the regulation of cholesterol catabolism, the inhibition of lipid peroxidation, and the production of prostacyclin. It is particularly intriguing that ascorbic acid levels are decreased in many high coronary heart disease risk groups such as smokers, men, diabetics, hypertensives, and the elderly. A previous study found that leukocyte ascorbic acid levels were strongly and Inversely correlated with the degree of coronary occlusion found at cardiac catheterization, even after controlling for the effects of smoking, age, and sex. More recently, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Epidemiologic Follow-up Study (NHEFS) found that dietary intake of ascorbic acid was Inversely associated with cardiovascular disease mortality. A comprehensive review of ascorbic acid and cardiovascular disease concluded that current evidence warrants additional investigation. We propose to analyze data from the Second Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES II). This data base includes serum ascorbic acid levels on over 11,000 participants as well as data on blood pressure, obesity, serum lipid levels, diabetes, smoking. body mass, and prior cardiovascular disease events. With the exception two studies that examined the relation between smoking and serum ascorbic acid, there have been no reports employing the serum ascorbic acid levels collected in this data set. Many studies have used dietary assessment to estimate ascorbic acid Intake and status. We will have a more accurate and precise measure of ascorbic acid status - serum ascorbic acid level. We will examine the cross-sectional relation between serum ascorbic acid level and coronary heart disease, and between serum ascorbic acid level and cardiovascular risk factors such as age, sex, socioeconomic status, blood pressure, serum lipids, smoking, diabetes, and obesity.